First 1000 Voda, Telstra LG G3 Customers: Get Free G Watch

The first 1000 customers who pre-order LG's new G3 smartphone with Vodafone or Telstra will get a free LG Android Wear G Watch. The Vodafone deal kicks in from today and the Telstra deal from August 5.

The offer follows the LG launch of their brand new Android Wear G Watch in Australia, a model that works with several brands of Android smartphone, not just LG's own phones.

With projections for wearable sales by 2018 ranging from between 100 to 500 million units, expectations are high that the wearable market is set for massive growth - in the double and triple digit range.

The market already has a range of wearable fitness devices and smartwatches, including Samsung's new Android Wear Gear watch, with Apple's long-rumoured iWatch yet to arrive.

However, the second half of 2014 is set to see a renewed frenzy of wearable activity that is finally transforming the market, which will be transformed even further once wearable technologies start being integrated into clothing.

LG shared research that the most interest in wearables is current in wristband devices, with 65% of consumers interested in owning one, compared with 55% for connected glasses and 40% for armband based devices.

Featuring a 1.2Ghz processor with an IPS LCD 1.65-inch touch screen, the LG G Watch works with Google Now and its card-based interface to deliver messages, notifications and relevant information when you need it.

Although phone calls can be answered from the watch, it doesn't have speakers so you can't actually talk through the watch Dick Tracy-style, although you can pair the watch and a Bluetooth headset to your phone at the same time.

This lets you then answer calls without touching the phone or even having it in the same room, while also being able to use the watch to control music playing on your handset through the Bluetooth earpiece or headphones.

Unlike other Android Wear smart watches, the LG G Watch screen never turns off. It does go into a power saving mode where the screen is dimmed, but the time is still displayed, preserving the ability to glance at the watch to tell the time, without needing to press a fiddly button first or touch the screen.

A high capacity 400mAh battery delivers enough battery life that you can get away with charging the watch every couple of days, which is also a big benefit compared to other watches that may require daily charging, given their batteries in the 200 to 300mAh range.

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LG's new G Watch

LG's G Watch will retail for AUD $259 outright from Harvey Norman, JB HiFi and Dick Smith, and will be available from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.

Pre-orders for LG's new G3 smartphone start from today at Vodafone, where the first 1000 G3 customers will get a free LG G Watch.

Telstra will offer the same deal from early August, once the LG G3 is in stores, with Optus choosing not to partake in the G Watch giveaway.

The watch can be ordered from the Google Play store now, with the watch available in black or white from the various retailers.

So, expectations of strong smart watch sales for the new generation of Android Wear devices, despite Apple's iWatch looming around the corner, this is one space to definitely watch!